Week 1 [14 August 2007]: Start to quit smoking. The first week is supposed to be the hardest. My Quit Day is “8/14/2007 3:00:00 PM” and I am logging my progress on QuitNet.com because I like logging things, obviously. Drink 64oz of water a day.

19 August 2007: I have not been dilligent about my water, thus far. I feel as though I have been doing fairly well, but I have not been making a conscious effort. Smoking, however, I have been doing quite well on. Temptation struck multiple times, but I have remained strong! My solution has been eating clementines (yum!) and chewing on ice (my mother reminds me that chewing ice means you’re sexually frustrated. Um, YES). My biggest fear was to gain a bunch of weight when I quit smoking, but as long as I avoid snacking, I think I’ll come through okay! I know that clementines count as snacking (duh), but they fulfill all the requirements smoking did for me: something tactile (peeling) and something oral (eating, duh!). So, it’s okay.

Today is good for another reason: my best friend has signed on to try doing a 20 (well, 19, now!) week challenge with me! We are going to be goddesses of sex. C’est vrai!

If I work my tushy off, by my birthday (6 February), I could have an entirely different body. And, with all the money I’ll have saved by not smoking (currently $18), I could have a fabulous new wardrobe! So, hooray!

20 August 2007: Last night was the biggest overcoming of smokey temptation ever. I was back in an environment where I used to smoke all the time, but I didn’t! I did, however, have a third of a milkshake. My body, keeper of dairy-justice, retaliated by making me feel like trash ALL NIGHT. Okay, okay. Lesson learned!

In happier news, 174.2. Oh thank goodness. That monthly spike (and gain) scared the buhjeezus outta me! I’m back down and I feel like I have an entirely different body! There is a difference in 7-8lbs. There really, really, really is.

21 August 2007 (Wee Hours!): Today is supposedly when I start eating well. Can we talk about how unprepared I am? I have practically no food in the house and nothing cooked up. What ever will I eat? It’s really a good question. I think tomorrow may be Tofu Scramble’s maiden voyage. And God only knows what else. I have to get on making food. Eugh. Life is just so nuts right now with school and renovating the apartment. Jeez.

This posting is about how much I absolutely love my mother. She is being as supportive and angelic as can be! She took me to two bookstores to search out veg*n cookbooks, and even bought one for me (Yes, I finally own Vegan with a Vengeance!) and helped me find the other (Vegan Planet, about which I’ve heard mixed reviews, but which seems to have a lot of information on planning a nutritionally sound diet).

She helped me scour Trader Joe’s for happy, healthy foods, as well, but in our frenzy, I took home two non-vegan items. One contains butter (how did we miss that?!) and the other whey, which had slipped my mind when reading labels. Properly checking ingredients is something I’m going to have to really practice doing. In the past, I’ve read mainly for calorie/carbs/fat/protein/fiber/vitamins and minerals, as well as refined sugars and hydrogenated slimy goo. However, now that I’ve realized my mistake, I can avoid doing it again in the future. ☺

As for the books?

I can already tell that I absolutely love Vegan with a Vengeance and I want to make just about every recipe in the book! I’ve gone through it and scrawled down a [page long] list of things I want to make and I’m fairly certain the Revolutionary Spanish Omelet with Saffron and Roasted Red Pepper-Almond Sauce (page 184) is going to be whipped up in the very near future because it contains just about everything I love (saffron, onions, potatoes, red peppers, almonds and garlic). When I read the instructions, I was expecting something with freakish amounts of fat and calories. This, however, does not appear to be the case…I need a cast iron skillet. STAT!

Vegan Planet looks like it will live up to the reviews: good to have and a decent resource with passable recipes, some of which are rather bland and need to be spiced up. I haven’t, however, delved into the recipe section, so I could be in for a happy surprise. I also am of the belief that every recipe needs at least double the spices called for, so, um, I could be a bit skewed in my tastings.

Seeing as I’m cooking for one right now, I freeze just about everything I make in individual serving sizes (I’m anal about it. I’ll post pictures some time!) and most recipes last me about a week. And, I have no veg*n pals in the area, yet, so, it really is just me! And now I have several lists of delicious things I want to make. I am going to be at this forever! Hooray.

But, first! FALAFEL!. I have been craving falafel for nearly a week and a half now, and, damn it, I’m going to make it!