Veggie-girl no more!

“Wait a sec…WHAT?!?!” was the response from my family and friends. I have been what I term a “pseudo-vegetarian” or “pescatarian” for over 7 years now. To be honest, it wasn’t that difficult to start. I haven’t eaten red meat (steak, burgers, hotdogs, etc) for almost 20 years. Pork just gradually fell out of the equation somewhere along the way as well. Actually, I think the last time I had a pork chop was over at my friend Helen’s house in high school. But, I did remain loyal to chicken and turkey since I wasn’t a big fan of seafood.

When I moved to Baltimore after college, I realized that seafood wasn’t all that bad (I think it was the crab cakes…mmmm!). I started incorporating more seafood into my diet, and therefore started eating less chicken. I have also always been a huge fan of vegetarian entrees (with the exception of the ones that include tofu…yuck), and would look for them wherever I went out to eat.

When I moved to Columbus a year later, I was going to be living by myself. I honestly decided somewhere along the drive from Baltimore to Columbus that I wasn’t going to eat meat any longer. I wasn’t really enjoying it, and I had no interest in preparing it for myself. Done! I’m not eating meat anymore. And I stuck with it…

Lately though, I had been rethinking that decision. I know I don’t get enough protein. Even though I do eat fish, I probably only eat 2 or 3 servings a week. I was tired of getting sick all the time, and also knew I had to change something if I was going to get pregnant anytime soon. I was also tired of my stomach always feeling bloated and bothering me. Cooking two different meals for Kevin and I has gotten old too. Although he is more than happy to eat my veggie fare now and then, he is a meat-lover at heart. Another (albeit vain) reason is the fact that I want to feel confident when spending pretty much a whole week in a bikini when we go to Jamaica. I’m not there yet. I work out consistently, and have not seen any results from my workouts. I can run 4-5 miles, work out on an elliptical, lift, and still see nothing. It is true “You are what you eat!” I know I needed to lessen my carb intake, and increase my protein. My motto always was I don’t eat meat, so I can eat as many carbs as I want! :)

So, last Sunday I took the plunge. I got myself a piece of salmon for dinner, got Kevin some chicken, and he was going to barbeque both of them. I told him I wanted to try a bite of his chicken. When the time came, I was actually nervous! I ate the whole bite he gave me, while he looked at me wide-eyed the entire time and thought I was going to spit it out. I didn’t, and was also surprised it was actually good!

Now, I’m back eating white meat (sans pork) again. It’s going well, and although I’ve been a little tired the past couple days…overall, I feel a lot better! Kevin and my parents are very excited. My diet has always been somewhat limiting for family gatherings. I am also excited because this opens up a whole new realm of dishes I can order at restaurants. There are quite a few places where I only get one thing every time we go. It should be interesting!!

Now, I’m going out to get some KFC!! (Just kidding!)

WDW...again!

We decided it would be a great idea to spend a part of Memorial Day weekend at one of our favorite places…Orlando and Walt Disney World! We left Columbus on Wednesday morning and flew down to Orlando. We got in (a little ahead of schedule!) and grabbed our rental car. I thought it would be a great idea to reserve the “lock low and go” car with Dollar. This rate guaranteed us a mid-size car or larger. Well, when we got to the rental counter, the guy told us we had the option of a Grand Marquis or a minivan. This is what Kevin chose…(don’t I look thrilled…)

We drove over to the hotel and our room wasn’t ready yet, so we went over to Downtown Disney and grabbed some lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s Café. It was great to have lunch and spend the afternoon walking around Downtown Disney! At about 3 PM we went back to the hotel and checked in. We had a wonderful view!

Our Room!

The view!

We could see Epcot from our room!

Tower of Terror

More views (it was a gorgeous day!)

After checking in, we put on our suits and went down to the pool bar and grabbed a couple beers, and hung out by the pool. We ended up in the pool for a little bit, and took a cat nap on the loungers. It was a great way to spend the afternoon! We ended the day by having a nice dinner at the sports bar in the hotel, then enjoying a rum and ginger ale outside on the back deck of the hotel. It was a wonderful and relaxing evening!

Dusk in Orlando

Relaxing night!

The next day we woke up early and headed to the Magic Kingdom. This was our first time staying off property, so we drove to the park and paid for tickets at the Transportation and Ticket center, then boarded the monorail with everyone else and went to the Magic Kingdom. It was pretty cool doing it that way.

Monorail Entrance

Magic Kingdom Entrance

We had a wonderful day! We went on all our favorite rides, and enjoyed great weather all day long.  Here are some fun pictures!

We were excited to ride Space Mountain!

The Castle!

Kev's favorite

Yay!

Mmmm...Mickey Ice Cream!

Me having fun!

View of the castle from TTA

We know how to have fun!

I was able to book reservations a few months ago for Chef Mickey’s and we headed over there for dinner. We had a great waiter and got to see all the characters (with the exception of Donald). We got some really cute pictures as well. (Side note: the food was actually really good!)

On our way back to the Magic Kingdom we went over to the Polynesian to check it out (and see if we would want to stay there on a future trip). I really thought it was cool…but I think Kevin was definitely more dazzled by our last stay at the Grand Floridian!

The Lobby

The awesome pool at the Polynesian!

We decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom to check out Spectromagic and Wishes. Although it started drizzling right before the fireworks, we still had a great time! It was a great end to the evening!!

Great night pic!

Best picture I have ever taken!!!

Spectromagic :)

The next day we got ready and headed over to Epcot. We both felt great even after the long but fun day the day before.  Must be magic. :)

I'm ready to roll!

Here's the view from our spot!

We were walking into the park, and were surprised to see that we arrived right in time for the rope drop. In all our trips to WDW, we have never seen it before. It was pretty cool. We then noticed everyone had the same idea we did…get a Fastpass for Soarin’! It was ok though…we still got a great time!

Another of Kev in front of the Epcot sign!

Rope drop!

Run!  Get that Fastpass!

We took the entire day at a somewhat leisurely pace. We rode all our favorites in Future World and headed over to the World Showcase around 12:30. We grabbed lunch at the quick service counter in Morocco, and walked around. We may have even grabbed a Grand Marnier slushie and a beer along the way. :)

Us in front of the fountain

Shot of Spaceship Earth

Show in the France Pavilion...I wouldn't do what this guy is doing!

Maelstrom :)

Kickin' back in the World Showcase

Mariachi band in the Mexico Pavilion

We went to dinner at Les Chefs de France, and had a wonderful waitress named Melanie. We got to see Lidio, our favorite waiter there too! It was a great meal! Afterwards, we walked outside and were trying to decide what to do with about an hour until Illuminations started. We stopped and talked to a cast member named Debbie.  She was so friendly and personable, that we just chatted with her for a while about Disney and other things. She was so nice, and said we better bring our kids back to see her someday! After saying bye to Debbie, we grabbed a soft serve cone and headed over to the other side of the World Showcase Lagoon. Again, it started drizzling a little bit before the fireworks started…but wasn’t too bad. We saw a great show, and headed out of the park after a long but fun day!

Where we staked out for the fireworks

Nighttime shot of the America Pavilion

The lit torch

The next day we spent at the resort. Kevin booked us a couples’ massage in the morning, which was wonderful after two long days on our feet. We then went over to the pool bar and got some lunch. It started pouring while we were eating. We were under cover, so it was no big deal to us!  After it cleared out, we enjoyed some time in the hot tub and the pool before it started clouding over again. Kevin got some great pictures from our balcony!

Pool bar

Florida afternoon rain

Yikes!  Ominous...

That night we headed over to Universal’s City Walk. We checked out some of the shopping, and had a great dinner at Margaritaville! It was an early night for us since we were both exhausted.

Hard Rock at CityWalk

Margaritaville :)

More shops :)

The next morning I woke up, and once I opened my eyes…uh oh. I had a sinus infection. Ugh. I usually get one every May and every September, and sure enough…I got one at the end of May. I managed to muddle through the plane flight home with the help of two packages of Kleenex! Unfortunately, one of my ears still hasn’t popped yet. After we got home and picked up the dogs, I headed over to Urgent Care to get some antibiotics, and am (slowly) on the mend. It was not the best ending to our trip, but it definitely didn’t put a damper on the fun we had! It was a wonderful 5 days!!

Sure, I was tired...but I wasn't near as tired as these two!  Thanks Auntie Gayle!