Lunch & Dinner, Day Twenty-Nine

(not pictured)

I helped my mother put together hors d'oeuvres trays, which included sliced cheese with crackers and pepperoni, crudites, chips, Doritos, stuffed mushrooms, crab dip, and every obscenely unhealthy treat you could imagine.

I snacked while preparing for the party as well as while the party began. I was surprised, though, because even though I had given myself permission to pig out, I was still consciously choosing vegetables or the lighter whole wheat crackers instead of fried deliciosity. I'm not going to pretend I made good choices, since my priority was on enjoying myself, but I probably could have done worse.

Also suprisingly, I had only one alcoholic drink the whole day, as opposed to the multitude of beers and mixed drinks I typically enjoy. It was a glass of Bailey's cut with skim milk over ice, and I savored every drop of it. Otherwise I stuck with diet soda.

For dinner, I enjoyed a massive traditional spread - corned beef, cabbage, carrots, a red potato, Irish soda bread with butter - so wonderful! I was amused because I consciously ate the same amount of vegetables as meat, which meant quite a healthy serving of cabbage and carrots.

The dessert spread was truly impressive, and here I was not modest - an oatmeal raisin cookie, a mini cannoli, fresh fruit, and bites here and there of whatever I wanted. Again, I could have done worse (can you tell I'm rationalizing?), but I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ate.