Wednesday, May 27, 2009

"Dog Person" & Meat

2 Things:

1) First, do you consider yourself a "dog person"? I never have, especially since we never grew up with dogs, only a cat, and so i never really knew what it meant to have one. Since then, of course, i've gotten my darling Lola, love of my life, and Ma Soeur has gotten her (sometimes) sweet Sofie (haha i so funny!). The first few months after getting Lola, our conversations literally revolved around our dogs - no lie. It was ridiculous! Since then, we've toned it down a bit, but no conversation goes by without mentioning Lola-bear and/or Sofie-monster (other nicknames include Snuffalofogus, Wofie Wof, Rora, and Sof Sof), how they're doing, what they chewed today, how cute they are, etc. Yes, it's annoying.

Anyway, i've noticed lately that my love for Lola has, if possible, grown exponentially. Whereas once i thought of her as just a pet, i now consider her my baby and a valid member of my family. I also found myself getting ridiculously emotional over stories involving lost dogs, mistreated dogs, etc. I watched Bolt while Ma Soeur and Bro were at a wedding on Sunday night and seriously LOST. IT. I'm talking major tears. (Also cried when Mittens told her story about being left by her family, declawed and defenseless and swore to myself then and there to take really good care of Puffin forever no matter how annoying he can be!) Also? 99% of the all the pics on my blackberry are of, you guessed it, Lola.


So... am i now a dog person? Officially? Or am i just crazy? The reason i'm hesitant to call myself a true "dog person" is because, and i'm being perfectly honest here, i don't love all dogs. I love my dog and a few select others. I do not love every dog (particularly the slobbery, ill-mannered, bad-tempered, or yip-y variety). Know what i mean??

2) Second, a word about meat. This past weekend, as you saw, i indulged in a lot of carnivorous activity. That's right - i ate lamb, beef, pork, you name it! And it was all good, REALLY good, until Memorial Day when we decided to BBQ. You see, the day before, Ma Soeur and i were @ Whole Foods getting BBQ supplies when i told her, "i'm done eating meat!! get me a portabello and lots of veggies." So we picked up a fat portobello, corn on the cob, zucchini, and shrimp. But then as we neared the meat counter, and Ma Soeur decided the steaks were way too overpriced and "i guess we'll just grill hamburgers instead", the thought of a nice, juicy, grass-fed and natural beef hamburger overtook my mind and senses, and before i knew it, i blurted "OOH I WANT A BURGER!!!". Yeah. I know. I'm a BAD vegetarian.


Fast forward to Monday afternoon - i'm getting ready to dig into my delicious burger, adorned with a thick slice of cheddar cheese, fresh romaine, organic ketchup and mayo, all sandwiched between two sprouted grain buns (really tasty, actually). I take my first bite - DELISH. Yum. Love it. I take my second bite - um, a little less enthusiastic this time. After Ma Soeur decided hers wasn't cooked enough and threw it back on the grill, i started to think about what i was eating and examined my own meat. It was fully cooked. But the more i stared, the more i thought, the more i chewed, the more disgusted i became. To the point where i couldn't take it anymore and proceeded to hand my leftover burger to Bro and instead shoved the grilled portobellos in between the delicious aforementioned buns. Yum!

I don't know what came over me, but i'm kind of glad it did. Because last week when i wasn't eating much meat, i felt a lot better. More energy, less heavy-full, no more afternoon headaches, and better sleep. I don't know if i can attribute all that to the lack of meat in my diet, but i know that i liked how i felt. And since i'm not all that keen on eating meat as it is, i'm glad that the burger incident reminded me not to.

Btw, pics of the BBQ and the rest of my weekend coming SOON. Just super busy with getting ready for this weekend's festivities (big bday bash for friend's 30th Friday night a bachelorette party on Saturday).

xoxo!!


P.S. A Note About Work: I cannot tell you how much i appreciated your kind and helpful comments re: my work situation. Although this week doesn't look particularly promising, i've decided to just let. go. I can't control how much work is available, that's not my job as a first-year associate, and the only thing i can really do is do what i can to get work, and when there just isn't any to be done, relax. I can fully defend my numbers if it came to it (which i doubt it would at my firm, it's just not that kind of place), and i know the partners in this office know i'm doing the best i can. No need to fret, n'est ce pas?

8 comments:

Melita said...

you are now officially a dog person!! and i'm glad that i'm not the only one who has a ton of names for my pets!! ;)

fresh365 said...

You sound like me about your dog! I never had one growing up and never understood why people were sad when their dog passed away. Now I can't imagine my life without her! And, the nicknames- too funny!

Lucy said...

my kitties are totally my furbabies. i can't describe the warm glowy feeling i get when i come home & see their furry little faces peering out the window to see if it's me. i'm officially a crazy cat lady ;)

as for meat, i too am trying to become more vegetarian. i'm only eating meat on special occasions (ie christmas, thanksgiving). seeing these awful industrial farms with thousands of poor cows and calves on the drive from LA to San Jose made me so sad. i vowed never to eat meat again. but ya know, it's hard being vegetarian--no tantalizing fast food options, and french toast doesn't taste right without bacon or sausage. that said, i'm trying to be more conscious of where my meat comes from & how often i eat it

Sarah said...

You are certainly a dog person, and maybe even a pet person, but there is nothing wrong with that at all! I grew up with a dog, who was more like a sister. I spoiled her all the time, and she had a very large collection of clothes. Now I have two cats (Ug and Nerd), who I spoil to death. They get pretty much whatever they want. I've always been a pet person (talking about my pets all the time) and an animal rights person. I probably spend a great deal of time talking about animals.

Give up meat girl! So nasty...or at least that is my point of view. I'm a vegetarian and don't eat any meat, including seafood. Going veg is not only good for your health (a super plus), but it is also good for the environment and saves the lives of animals. There are some great meat alternatives out there if you want to try some out before you make a decision. If you crave a burger, try Boca. Tastes like real meat to me. Actually, I don't like the taste of beef, so I stay away from Boca burgers for that reason! Boca chicken is great. So are some products by Quorn. You can find tons of options at Whole Foods.

I'm glad to hear you are less stressed about work!

Nina (Femme Rationale) said...

hands down i am a dog person. i will become one crazy mama if anybody hurts bruno. haha

but that's besides the point...i actually went vegetarian for a couple of years and it was AWESOME. i had so much energy, no food coma, and my hair and skin and what not was so much healthier. i dropped a lot of weight (down to 95 lbs) unintentionally - i noticed my metabolism was a lot faster. i also made it a point not to replace my meat consumption w/carbs which imo is just as unhealthy for you. i had to start eating meat again cuz i'm anemic and my doc told me either eat meat or take iron supps (plus i really needed to add lbs to my frame again). soooo...i now eat meat again but i totally miss being vegetarian. i'm planning on doing it again cuz it's just so much better for my health even tho i hate taking iron supps.

ok, so my point again is...i highly recommend doing it if you haven't started to already. i did eat fish so i wasn't a complete vegan or anything. and if you need support or have any questions, i'll be more than happy to help you - i did a lot of research when i went meat-less. :)

Tiffany said...

I never liked dogs but my husband was always a dog person. Once we got our first dog, I was hooked and am now officially a dog person. :)

Bits of Splendor Shop said...

We have 2 maltese dogs and so we engage in many ridiculous conversations about our dogs. Sometimes husband will call me when I'm at work just to give me an update on what our pups are doing. It's sad to admit, but true.

Anonymous said...

I love this post, it reminds me of myself. Anyone that knows me is bound to know Snickers as well. ALSO, I too, am thinking about becoming a vegetarian. We should discuss!!!! As of now, I am still eating meat (rarely), but only organic, free range, etc. I know that isn't quite vegetarian, but it is a start!