Whole30 -- Day 24

While it's 11:14 p.m. on Wednesday now, I have a feeling it'll be Thursday before I actually get this thing posted. I apologize for it being so late, but I was on a date!

But let's rewind.

I woke up in Omaha this morning, and I cannot say enough how awesome it was to spend so much time with my parents. I really wish we lived in the same city. (I do recognize, however, how lucky I am that they live just a quick, easy two-hour drive away from me.)

This morning, I lazed around for a bit, finished up my laundry, and my mom offered to make me breakfast. You guys: it was amazing and pretty much the best breakfast I've ever had. I am so not lying. Just wait.

Around 10:30, I hit the road to come back home. My mom had to work, and I didn't want to sit around by myself, so I made the trek back (rocking out, of course, the entire way).

For the rest of the day, I pretty much lounged around. I spent about 15 minutes unpacking and organizing, 15 minutes cooking lunch, and then a few hours doing a whole lot of nothing: reading, designing a blog for a volunteer group, talking to cats, etc.

And then around 4:30, I started getting ready for my date, as I was meeting the group downtown at 6:15. First, I got super glammed up (i.e. put on a bit more make-up than usual):

"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

After making sure my hair was just right and my bronzer and eyeshadow were as set as they were going to be, I threw on the perfect Hot Mama outfit:

I'm not very good at full-length selfies. Or photos
in general, as made obvious by this morning's post.

I don't feel like this photo does it total justice, but I felt so pretty. It has been a really long time since I've felt pretty, so tonight was pretty exciting.

Also, as you can see by the picture, I am clearly ready for spring/summer: yes, I am wearing sandals, even though it was a high of 40 degrees (and crazy-windy) today.

The date was a lot of fun. We (my friend, her husband, her sister, her sister's friend, my date, and I) met downtown at The Gramercy Tap for a drink. (I had soda water + lime, which looked exactly like a vodka tonic. Score.) After our drink, we headed just a block away to the Civic Center to see Jim Gaffigan, who was absolutely hilarious. I laughed non-stop pretty much the entire evening. After, all of us headed to Court Avenue Brewing Company to have more drinks (more soda water + lime for this girl) and appetizers and to watch the Iowa basketball game.

(Side note: I quickly skimmed the appetizer, and there was nothing I could eat. If we were ordering actual dinner dinner, I could've ordered a steak or salmon or something, but since everyone else was having easy finger food, I politely declined. But, I did feel like kind of a party pooper, especially since my date didn't order any food -- presumably to show solidarity with me.)

It was a really, really nice evening, and I enjoyed getting to know my date, especially in a group setting. I don't feel like we really got to know each other super well because we were with a bunch of people and then sitting silently (well, "silently" with tons of laughter) in a show, but he seems really nice and really fun. We exchanged numbers, so that's a positive!

Breakfast:

Like I said, this is pretty much the best breakfast I've ever had -- ever. My mom made me a three-egg omelet with mushrooms, scallions, and avocado and then threw some raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries on the side.

It tasted so light and so fresh, but it kept me full for a really long time.

Lunch:

Around 2:00, I was finally hungry for lunch. (This "no-school" schedule is totally messing with my routine.) Since I had just returned to Des Moines and didn't have any leftovers, I whipped up a quick "breakfast for lunch": chicken sausage, two eggs, avocado, mushroom, jalapeno (with an apple on the side). As always, it was super tasty.

Someone missed me a lot and wanted to join me at on the table:

I was joking with my parents about how one of their cats begs at the table like a dog and that they should be thankful that he is too fat to jump on the table -- because that is what I deal with on a daily basis, usually with two cats at a time.

Dinner: I didn't really have dinner tonight. I drank a lot of water: one drink at the Gramercy, a bottle of water at the Civic Center, and two huge glasses at CABCO. Interestingly, all of that liquid kept me full for quite a while.

My tummy finally started growling around 9:30-10:00 p.m., so when I got home, I inhaled a Pecan Pie Larabar and a very small handful of mixed nuts that I stole from my parents' house.

I know it's not good to "skip" meals, but I really didn't have another option this evening. And, since I didn't even get hungry until super late in the evening, I think I did a pretty good job today overall.

Physically: My tummy was a bit iffy this morning: to save you from TMI, I'll just say that I could've used Immodium and Ex-Lax -- simultaneously. My mom's tummy was not feeling too well either, so I'm not sure if I can attribute it to Whole30 nutrition or to the vegetables (both broccoli and cauliflower) that we ate the night before.

The only other physical issue that I'm still having and would like to have cleared up completely is skin allergies. I've always been allergic to absolutely everything and have always gotten rashes, eczema, etc. at the drop of a hat, and it would be nice if this new diet would make all of that disappear. I'm still crossing my fingers for that.

Emotionally: I'm doing really well. I think the couple of days home with my parents did wonders for my soul, and the successful shopping trip (and subsequent positive feeling in tonight's outfit) did wonders for my self-esteem. It sure is crazy what getting dressed up and feeling pretty can do for a girl.

Cravings: It would've been nice to have been able to have a cocktail or a glass of wine this evening, but it wasn't like I was craving one, and it definitely didn't feel like I was any "less fun" because I wasn't drinking. It also would've been nice to have been able to have something from the appetizer menu, just so that I wouldn't have felt so left out -- or so I wouldn't have felt that my date was left out (even though I told him to please order something).

But, those are just "would've-been-nice" things, not cravings or deprivations by any means.


For now, I'm off to bed, friends. It's still Wednesday -- with 17 minutes to spare. "See" you bright and early tomorrow!

Peace out.