Thanks everyone for the input on the dinner tonight. I'm thinking of making those brownies and bringing them with- everyone here loves desserts
Jill- thanks for your happy goal quote. It reminds me of myself because my friends always tell me I'm easily entertained- but its just because I like to appreciate everything I have, no matter how small. Life is happy and easier when you can see each little joy as a gift.
I think I should participate in the happy goal each week too. I saw a quote in the locker room the other day and I like it's message: “Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.” -Oliver Goldsmith. I like to remind myself that no matter how many things go wrong, or how many mistakes I make, I can still succeed if I pull myself up 1 more time.
So I've told my boyfriend of 4 years (he is back home in the states while I'm in Ireland studying) that I'm a vegetarian now. He seems to support it and has started having what he calls his "vegetarian meal" each day- which means either for lunch or dinner he doesn't eat meat/fish, which makes me proud
However, when I mentioned to him that I'm also trying out not eating milk or dairy he seemed kind of upset and stated "you are not a vegan." I think it might be just because he likes cheese so much (and all things with cheese- pizza, quesidillas, cheesy mashed potatoes :-p) but I don't understand why he would be opposed to me drinking soy milk and eating soy cheese (although they do not have soy cheese in Ireland it appears because I have checked 4 grocery stores with no success). I guess thinking back to before, I thought it must be very difficult for vegans to eat, but now it seems natural and its a lot easier to refrain from eating milk and cheese then I thought. For example, my roomate wanted me to taste his pesto last night to make sure it hadn't gone bad, but i knew there was cheese in it and I had this really strong impulse not to eat it. I've heard it takes 3 weeks to break a habit, and I guess its true because I have no desire to eat anything that I used to eat.
As a side note, thinking about my boyfriend and the future, do any of you have children that you feed vegetarian/vegan diets? I'm still not fully educated (but I'm listening to more informative podcasts each day) and I'm wondering if I can raise my future children meat and dairy free? I know you can start giving kids cow's milk after a certain age (around one) but can you give them soymilk instead? I might have to do some research :-p
Dee