today is national “eat what you want day”.

unfortunately, i will not be celebrating with the rest of the nation. i can’t eat what i want for the life of me. tell you what i CAN eat though… whole lotta carbs and sugar.

let’s talk about it.

in between boyfriend mother’s day festivities and my own mother’s day festivities, i shared a popsicle with penelope.

times two.

randy had no interest in the frozen treat. he is way more into eating stuff out of the trash.

hate all ya want.. i usually get death glares from people when i share my water with penny. but i guess i just don’t really care, it doesn’t bug me.

then we went to my parents casa and i proceeded to make a lovely delicious colorful salad that i would not be consuming. but i photographed it anyway because it looked damn good. romaine, red peppers, radishes, green peppers, cucumbers, broccoli slaw and avocado. i am sorry i couldn’t eat you, mister salad.

my mom made a gigantor fruit salad, this bowl was roughly the size of jupiter, give or take a few inches. i picked out the watermelon while chopping veggies. the watermelon is the only thing that wouldn’t give me grief on the journey down my esophagus.

dear old dad was grillin’ up some salmon, halibut & chicken. more food i couldn’t eat.. but it is worth mentioning. in the meantime i cooked up some mushroom soup from a recipe i got from danica which ended up being extra delicious AND i was able to eat it.. which was definitely a plus. i threw up the recipe on my meals page. hum that sounded kind of bad, i didn’t mean that i regurgitated the recipe when i said threw up. i think you catch my drift though. check it out, it is a keeper. well, only if you love mushrooms. marshall had one taste and that was more than enough for the poor mushroom hating fellow.

it was national shrimp day yesterday.. so everyone but me & marshall (the seafood hating weirdo) enjoyed some shrimp+cocktail sauce.

i was being ridiculous again when loading my plate which included:

• mushroom soup
• delicious salmon
• steamed asparagus

as you may have guessed the salmon and asparagus didn’t work out for me.

my mom ended up stealing my salmon and the asparagus ended up.. well.. i don’t know where, but not in my stomach that is for sure.

i decided to add a piece of whole wheat bread + laughing cow to the entree.. bread is pretty easy for me because i can sog it down to the point where i dont have to even chew it so it works out pretty nicely. this was yummy.

however.. there is this new thing going on with me immediately after i eat. it feels like someone is shoving my head really deep below water and my ears have so much pressure in them and basically my head feels like it is about to explode. so that was not rad.. it actually brought me to tears yesterday, first time i had any waterworks of any kind since the surgery. lame. so all i really ate was most of that slice of bread and about half a cup of the soup. bummer.

after dinner we did the whole mother’s day gift thing. i got my mom some sweet items which included:

• 30 day shred
• sunflower market almond butter
• sunflower market apple crisp granola
• framed photo of me+her
• great harvest cinnamon burst bread (apparently it is out of this world)

as you can tell she REALLY loves that bread!!

i was stoked on that almond butter because i got it for five bones.. it was on sale, usually $10. score. i got myself a jar also, in the crunchy variety. and the granola ingredients looked super fabulous.. the nutrition stats were good.. i woulda got some for myself except it is not in liquid form.

my family has my mom’s homemade strawberry shortcake at basically every family function. if you tasted the angel food cake and vanill-y whipped cream, you would request it every time too. it is just that good. well as it turns out, strawberry shortcake is pretty soft and squishy and totally manageable for me to eat. so i indulged! i mean, it is tradition, after all! our very favorite family dessert.

after that i was finally not hungry anymore. phew. dessert came through in the clutch.

well as much as i would love to talk about today’s eats.. that is going to have to wait until later tonight.

today is my first day back at work since the tonsillectomy. it has been a rough day, turbo busy due to mass amounts of work pileup. overwhelming to say the least. plus work+lortab+sore throat does not equal anything fabulous.

i am going to attempt to ride the bike at the gym today. i know, i am not supposed to work out, but it is killing me.. and so i am going to see if i can deal with a moderate pace while i read my new mags. i will let you know the outcome, i’m sure.

in other news!!~~

• check out tina’s blog for a fabulous tote bag giveaway. we can all use an eco-friendly tote to be more green!
• tomorrow is free flavor tuesday at haagen daaz!! stop into any haagen daaz shop to snag a free-bee scoop of any bee-built flavor (sorry vegans, this one is not for you) click here to find a location near you!
• order yourself a free organic & natural foods coupon book from this website.. a great way to save money and score points for those of you participating in the simple life challenge!
• here is another chance to win PETA’s vegan college cookbook! thanks to angela at oh she glows.
• are you a closet bagel whore just like me? i love bagels. so much. click here to get a coupon to buy 3 & get 3 free from einsteins!

that’s all she wrote. for now at least.. i will be back later tonight with my meager monday eats & challenge updates!

questions:

1. still wanting digital camera suggestions.. my birthday is not until june 1. anyone?
2. do you let your pets lick something you are eating and then still be ok to eat it? or drink out of your glass of water?
   
3. what is your favorite family get together dish/dessert?
   

xo.