Black Bean Burger

I had planned to write a bunch of posts about the rest of the stuff I got rid of last month -- I took pictures and everything -- but I don't feel like it.  It seems like all that happened months ago and, let's face it, I'm lazy.  Here's a snapshot of the month for the curious out there:

GET RID OF ALL THE THINGS!

I'll hang on to the pictures though and maybe one of these days I'll get a 'wild hair' and talk about all my "stuff".

On to June ... 19th.  Yikes.  You haven't missed much, readers.  This is the month of being a vegetarian.  Honestly, until today, it hasn't been difficult.  I've been eating lots of eggs, veggies, black bean burgers, salads, black bean burgers, a little tofu here and there, black bean burgers, etc.  You get the idea.  But today?  I'd cut a bitch for a hamburger.  Ooh, or a steak!  Wrapped in bacon.  With a side of hamburger.  (Sorry, siblings, I know all this meat talk is unappealing.)

And now it's June 22nd.  Eight more days!  I want to take a second to pat myself on the back for not eating the flesh of a cow last night.  I was a dinner party shindig (thanks Dominic and Eliza!) and flank steak was on the menu.  Steak that had been marinating for ~24 hours.  Steak that was cooked to perfection on the grill with the help of Dave's fancy meat thermometer (heh, meat thermometer).  And did I have a bite?  Nay.  Did I succumb to the taunting of my friends?   The pointed seductive eating of said meat?  Nay!  I persevered and ate my delicious, delicious black bean burger.  AND IT WAS DELICIOUS.

The wine was also delicious.  Bet you guys never would have suspected that I was a fan of wine, eh?  The more you know...

So, June has pretty much come and gone with nary a blog post in site and now that July is right around the corner, I need to start thinking about my next challenge. Right now it looks something like this:

July:  No TV
August:  No eating out (with the exception of planned/schedule social things)
September:  Walk 100 miles
October:  Try a new food/recipe
November:  Learn something new
December:  No swearing

I can tell you I want to move "No TV" to another month as Kristy and I have slowly been making our way through "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and I'm not willing to give that up quite yet.  Sister bonding.  I definitely want to do it, just not yet.  That leaves... no eating out.  Two food challenges back to back?  Meh.  No, lame.

I think no swearing would be a great one for me to tackle right now.  I've had quite the potty mouth lately (I've thought about re-reading the post from last week and counting the number of times I said "shit", but I'm afraid).  I dropped the f-bomb at work the other day (and let's face it, that's not the first time) and while I was in the company of co-workers and not in front of a customer, it's still inappropriate and unprofessional.  I can do better.  I will also be devising a form of punishment for myself as an incentive not to swear.  Something public and embarrassing.

But I don't want to *just* do that.  Borrrrring.  I am thinking some sort of physical challenge.  I've been going to physical therapy for my knees and hips for the last couple months and that's wrapping up next week.  Well, the office visits are wrapping up; I still have work to do on my own.  There are exercises I have to do every week and I've also learned that when I am not working out consistently, everything gets super tight and hurty.  I HAVE to keep myself accountable and moving if I am going to hike ~65 miles in Ireland come September and not be miserable the entire week.  Nobody wants a miserable hiker, particularly my co-hiker, Jennie.  (You're welcome, Jennie)

In the meantime, I'll be thinking of July 1st...

Meat date.  It's on.