Rest in Peace

Hi friends ... it is with much sadness that I write to you today. My grandpa passed away on Monday after suffering for many years with health problems. He has gone to be with the Lord, and I am trying to find peace in that. There was a tradition of him singing at my female cousins weddings, and I am so sad that he will not be able to sing at my wedding some day. I will miss him so much until we are reunited in Heaven. On a lighter note ... my Dad came to Seattle this weekend for work, and I was able to take him to a Chinese vegan restaurant. We ordered 2 types of soup and 2 entrees. The food was delightful and filling and I had plenty of leftovers. It was called Tea Pot Restaurant in Kirkland, WA. Some other good news ... I was officially approved to transfer to SoCal on July 1st. This is such a blessing because I have been stressing out about it for weeks. I know it is the right decision for me, and I can't wait to start my life down there. I hope you made a conscious effort to be healthy in some way today. I made vegan chili for one of my best friends to show her how yummy being a vegan can be. Let me know if you want the recipe :)

Day Nineteen

Good evening! It's been a few days since I've blogged. I've had a lot on my mind lately, but I haven't staggared from my new lifestyle. I am continuing to feel healthy and well. Today, I went to the big International Women's Day celebration Accenture puts on every year. It was really fun and I felt so empowered after I left. Unfortunately, they didn't accomidate my new lifestyle :-\ For lunch I ate a lot of steamed veggies and a small piece of baked salmon. I skipped dessert, all meats, and the mac and cheese. It was one of the hardest days so far because usually I would be all over free food at events. But I proved to myself that I can handle the temptation of 50+ women stuffing themselves with the free food.  I went to the gym tonight and did a nice long cardio workout on multiple machines, and finished with abs and stretching. I really enjoy going to the gym on Friday nights, because I'm usually not in the mood to go out and be around people because I spend my whole week being around people. It's a great way for me to end the work week and launch into the weekend. This weekend I have the pleasure of helping my Dad at a large convention in Bellevue where he will be showcasing the budgeting software he created a few years ago. I was involved with some of the testing of this program, so I'm excited to see it on the market. I hope to take him to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant on the East side for dinner tomorrow night and show him how much my diet has changed over the past ~3 weeks. Another thing happening this weekend is I'm starting a series of spring cleaning events to evaluate all of my "stuff" and donate things I don't need to Value Village. I'm lucky to live in Lake City, because there are so many opportunities to help those who live within a mile or so of me. For example, today I was at the post office mailing a rather large package, and a nice homeless man was sitting outside opening the door for people. I really appreciated this gesture because I had my hands full. It makes me feel so much better about giving him money versus the people who stand on street corners begging. I will definitely miss Lake City after I move, even if it is one of the most dangerous parts of the city. Welp, it's time for me to sleep! Good night all :) 

Day Sixteen

Good evening friends. I am on my third week of this life change, and I'm feeling really great. I've been losing weight at a steady pace and I've felt healthier than I ever have. My friend told me how to cook tofu today, so I will be incorporating that into some of my meals to make sure I'm getting enough protein. I've only had tofu once, and it was fried and in my pad thai. Any suggestions for ways to cook tofu would be much appreciated :) I have a lot to do tomorrow, so this will be a short post. But I wanted to let everyone know that I'm still going strong and I hope all of my friends who gave up something for Lent (or are eating healthier) are succeeding. It's not an easy task to change your eating habits, and I applaud anyone who is staying strong and fighting through the cravings. I know I was craving some chicken wings tonight for sure!

Day Fourteen

Well, I'm back in Seattle now. It was a lovely sunny weekend in San Francisco. I ate at 2 amazing Vegan restaurants! I highly recommend them to anyone who's going to the bay area anytime soon. 1. Herbivore - Justin took me here for lunch on Friday and it was fantastic. Totally reasonable prices for lunches (<$10). I ordered a "Philly Cheese Steak" sandwich.  All of the ingredients were vegan, but it tasted better than a regular philly cheese steak sandwich! I was amazed. I think I need to find more cafe-style vegan restaurants in Seattle so I can enjoy not bringing my lunch to work every day. 2. Gracias Madre - Justin, his girlfriend, and a few Accenture friends took me to this restaurant. How fantastic that I can still eat Mexican food and stick to my vegan diet! I definitely need to find a vegan Mexican restaurant in Seattle.  We all ordered sangria for our drink (YUMMY ... fresh fruit and delicious tempranillo red wine).  For my entree, I ordered the Mole Enchiladas. It was made with black beans, tomato sauce, cashew cheese, and onion. SUPER delicious. It tasted as delicious as regular meat enchiladas. There was also steamed kale on the side, and it was pretty tasty as well. I'm still getting used to eating kale :) We also went to a few normal restaurants, and I was amazed at how many vegetarian options they had. I still had to get pretty creative with some of my meals, but all in all I stuck to my diet and was always fed well. I also had the chance to go to Athleta! It's the Lululemon of the GAP family stores. I purchased the "pack anywhere" dress that I've been wanting for over a year, and it's a pretty periwinkle color. I'm excited to wear it on my cruise in April. I am also going to buy a swimsuit from them, but I need to order it online because they didn't have my size in the colors I wanted. Athleta is only located in California and in a few other major cities, so I'm really excited I got to go. Finally, Today officially marks 2 weeks since I started my "no meat, no dairy, no dessert" lifestyle, and I'm so excited for what's to come. Every day I'm learning more and more about eating healthy and taking advantage of my time at the gym. I hope you all take a second to think about your next meal, and try to cut out meat, dairy, and dessert just for one meal. I promise you will feel so much better afterwards :) 

Day Eleven

Hi friends! I'm writing to you from San Francisco, one of the vegan capitals of the world. I'm so excited to explore the restaurants and stores down here with my good friend Justin and his girlfriend Lauren. It will be a nice change to eat out instead of making my own food (as much as I love cooking, it's nice to have someone else cook for you). Last night I had a really good workout, but I realized that since I've been losing weight so rapidly from decreasing my caloric intake, I might have to decrease my workouts once I reach my goal weight.  This is actually a good thing because I spend 4 to 5 nights at the gym. I will be able to see my friends more, be more involved at the lake house, and be less guilty about not spending every free moment working out.  But I'm not at that point yet, so I will continue to work hard until I reach my goal weight. Earlier tonight when I was at SeaTac, I learned the hard truth that not everyone understands/supports the vegan lifestyle. I asked multiple airport employees if there were any vegan restaurants or options in the food area, and they either looked at me with blank stares or told me to get a bagel from the coffee shop. This was very disheartening because usually Seattlites are on top of things like this. So I had to settle for some mass produced sushi ... yuck. I'm still feeling really great (minus a few light headed moments at the gym last night) and I'm so thankful for that. I've heard horror stories from friends/family who have made the switch to being vegetarian/vegan and suffered a lot of side effects. It's just more affirmation that this is what I'm supposed to do to be healthy from the inside, out. Enjoy your Friday everyone, and I will check in with y'all on Saturday! <3